All I Need Is You
by Em Pataki
Summary: Arnold skips his class field trip to take care of Helga.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Where Is She?

It was a new day at school. A new day yet another boring day of ranting from Arnold's classmates while they awaited the arrival of their eighth grade teacher, Mr. Simmons.

"Did you see what Patty was wearing this morning? How many times do I have to tell her those saddle oxfords do NOT go with that blue sweater she's worn every day for the past five years?!" Rhonda exclaimed.

"I reckon I won't be doin' too well on today's history quiz. On account of I left my book here last night." Stinky said, while scratching his head.

"Does anyone have a Mr. Fudgy bar? I don't think I can make it until lunch?!" Harold exclaimed, slamming his fists on his desk.

"Mm..mm..mmm...I don't know what's sadder, Arnold? How much that kid eats, or how little his parents care about it. Arnold? Hey Arnold! Gerald exclaimed, looking over at his best friend scribbling on a sheet of paper.

"Huh? Oh sorry Gerald. Arnold said, looking up from his paper.

"Man what's with you? You've been like this from the moment I met you outside your place this morning." Gerald pointed out.

"Sorry. I was just wondering where Helga is. She wasn't on the bus, and still hasn't made it to class." Arnold replied, while Gerald lifted an eyebrow.

"And you care because?"

Before Arnold could answer, the class saw Mr. Simmons standing in the doorway speaking to someone, although Arnold seemed to be the only one concerned about paying close attention to his conversation.

" _Oh my! That...that does not sound good! Would you like to go to the nurse's office?"_

The bell then rang for class to start and Mr. Simmons entered the classroom.

"Class. Class, settle down! Now, I know you're all excited about our field trip to the Zoo." Mr. Simmons began, before being interrupted.

"Free the animals! Free the animals!" Curly stood on his chair, while Gerald looked over and said "For the sake of the animals, that kid's parents better not sign the permission slip."

"Uh Curly, I'm happy you've taken an interest in what we've chosen to do, but we're just going to SEE the animals." Mr. Simmons replied.

Arnold on the other hand, couldn't care less about the topic. He sat there staring at the note he had been writing for a certain someone, thinking to himself _I hope Helga's okay?_

"Alright everyone, I'm going to pass out your History quizzes, which I'm sure you'll all do quite well on." the teacher insisted.

Everyone took a sheet, anxious to know how it would go while Arnold sadly stared at the questions.

Once class ended, everyone took their papers up to the teacher and headed for lunch.

"Arnold, a word please?" Mr. Simmons asked.

Arnold looked over at his teacher, wondering if he was about to be asked about the test. He had just handed it in though. What could the teacher already want to discuss about it?

"Uhh yes?"

"You haven't seemed like yourself this morning. Is everything alright?" Mr. Simmons asked, full of concern.

Arnold didn't realize how depressed he had appeared to be. He wanted to know why Helga didn't come to class. He also knew she didn't like revealing personal information however.

"Uhh I'm fine. Just a little tired."

"Well, alright then Arnold." the teacher said, as he watched his student leave the class.

Rather than going to lunch, Arnold waited outside of the nurse's office for Helga to leave. He had no such luck seeing her however. After a few minutes of waiting, he finally decided to open the door and check on her.

"Yes, may I help you?" The nurse asked.

"Sorry. I was just looking for Helga Pataki." Arnold said softly.

"Oh, she left this morning dear. She wasn't feeling well." the nurse said.

Arnold's eyes widened with concern as he replied "What's wrong with her?"

"She had a severe headache. We gave her some Excedrin, but the best thing for her right now is rest." the nurse explained.

"Oh okay." Arnold replied, leaving the office with a sorrowful look on his face.

Arnold stood in the hallway a moment knowing he couldn't just ditch school the rest of the day. Things didn't end well the last time he and Gerald had tried that. Therefore, he decided to go to the cafeteria for what was left of his lunch period.

Once he entered the cafeteria, he saw Gerald sitting at a table with Phoebe. Once he arrived at their table, he set his things down and sighed with his arms across the table.

"Is everything alright Arnold? You appear to be a bit perturbed?" Phoebe asked, while taking a bite of her spring rolls.

"I was just wondering if Helga's okay? The nurse said she had a headache this morning and had to leave early." Arnold sighed.

"Oh my! I'm sure she'll recover quickly." Phoebe insisted.

As Arnold was looking up to give a weak smile, the three of them looked over to the other side of the cafeteria when they heard "FREE THE ANIMALS! HAHAHA!"

Gerald shook his head while watching Curly ride a food cart across the cafeteria, roping Eugene for practice.

"I'm okay!" Eugene said, as he struggled to breathe.

The class watched disturbed, while Gerald shook his head and said "That trip is NOT going to go smoothly."

Once the bell rang, the kids got up and finished what was left of their school day. The hours dragged more for Arnold than anyone else, as he sat there waiting for the chance to see Helga.

The moment the bell for their last class rang, Gerald watched Arnold sprint towards the door.

"Whoa! Hold it Romeo!" Gerald exclaimed.

"No time to talk Gerald. I've got to check on Helga!" Arnold insisted.

"Man, she has a headache, not pneumonia! I think she'll be alright." Gerald replied, while seeing Arnold roll his eyes.

"I just want to see her. Is that so bad? Besides, she may need me for something." Arnold replied.

"Whatever you say Arnold." Gerald sighed, while shaking his head at his best friend.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: What Should I Do?

KNOCK KNOCK! Arnold stood outside Helga's front door, waiting for someone to answer. He wondered if maybe it was a good idea to disturb her while she was trying to get some rest. Standing there with his hands behind his back, thinking to himself…

 _Maybe this wasn't such a good idea? Maybe I should leave and let her sleep? She may need me to help her if she needs some medicine or water or…"_

His thoughts were then interrupted as the door swung open and he heard "Hello Arnold! How are you?!"

"Hi Olga. I just wanted to check on Helga." Arnold stepped back, knowing how enthusiastic she could be.

"I'm afraid she's not here." Olga replied, with a disappointed look on her face.

"Where is she? I thought she was sick?!" Arnold asked, confusingly.

"Oh yes, she came home with a terrible headache. I baked her a lemon souffle, sang her a lullaby, and read her a bedtime story!" Olga said excitedly.

Arnold raised an eyebrow knowing how irritated something like that would make Helga. "That was uhh nice of you. Do you know where she is now?"

"Hmm I'm not sure. After her lullaby, I asked if she needed help changing into her pajamas, but she ran out quickly." Olga replied, oblivious to how that must have sounded.

Arnold sighed deeply as he replied "Well, thanks anyway."

"You're so welcome! See you later!" Olga exclaimed, while Arnold slowly walked away from their porch.

As he stood in front of their house a moment, he wondered if he should go find her, or just wait until he saw her at school the next day.

 _I wonder where she could be? Maybe she's at Phoebe's? Should I bother her if she's not feeling well?_

Before Arnold knew it, he found himself circling the park. Partly to find Helga, partly because his spinning head wouldn't allow him to go home and relax.

As he circled the park, staring at the ground, thinking about his missing classmate, he bumped into someone. THUMP!

"Oh, sorry Gerald." he said, not watching where he was going.

"Man, I'm going to get you an ADD medication." Gerald replied, shaking his head.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about…"

"Pataki...yeah, that wasn't hard to figure out. So, did you 'take care of her?'" Gerald couldn't help but joke.

After rolling his eyes at the remark, Arnold replied "I would have liked to, but she wasn't at home."

"Where was she?" his best friend asked, while lifting an eyebrow.

"I don't know. Olga said she was home for awhile this morning, and then left." Arnold explained, full of concern.

"Mm..mm..mmm! Well, you know how that family of hers loves to keep in touch with one another." Gerald said sarcastically.

Meanwhile, Arnold's predictions about WHO Helga was with her correct, but not her whereabouts.

"CRIMITY! I am going to kill her!" Helga scowled, holding a hand to her head.

"Try not to scream Helga. You're only making things worse for yourself." Phoebe replied, as she hung out at the docks with her best friend.

"Gee Pheebs, that's great advice! You haven't dealt with the lunatic rantings I have for the past near twenty four hours though!" Helga scowled, squinting her eyes.

"If I may ask, what exactly happened?" Phoebe wondered, while she and her best friend sat swinging their legs over the pier.

Helga sighed, rubbing her temples a moment before explaining, while Phoebe patiently awaited a response from her.

"Last night, when Arnold was kissing me goo...I mean, when we were saying good night to each other, Olga decided to swing the door open and scream how excited she was that I was home." Helga began while Phoebe nodded her head.

"Then after the golden child scares Arnold off with her high pitched vocal chords that could be heard in China, she drags me in to make me listen to a new piece she's written for some stupid music class her students will be taking!" she continued, while Phoebe noticed her rubbing her temples harder.

"After I storm out of there, she follows me upstairs to bang on my door every fifteen minutes and ask 'Helga, would you like to watch daddy's cell phone commercial? Helga, would you like to try my famous chocolate chip cookies? Helga, would you like to look at family pictures with us? Helga, would you like to hear about my award for teacher of the year?' CRIMITY! What the heck is wrong with her?" By that point, Helga jumped up from her seat, to throw her arms in the air.

"Well I'm sure she meant well." Phoebe replied, knowing Helga wouldn't like the answer.

"Pttss...yeah right! All she cares about is impressing Bob!" Helga scoffed with her arms crossed.

"I gather you haven't gotten any rest since then?" Phoebe asked, although the answer was obvious.

"If I had stayed at school I probably could have just slept through one of Simmons' boring nutrition lectures. I don't for the life of me know what made me think I had a chance in hell of getting any sleep going back home this morning! Sheesh!" Helga scowled, holding her head.

"I find it rather strange your sister wouldn't know to give you a moment's peace in a situation such as this after majoring in psychology." Phoebe thought out loud.

"Phoebe, this is Olga we're talking about. She feeds off attention not isolation! Sheesh!" Helga scowled, feeling her head throbbing harder.

Placing a hand on her best friend's shoulder, Phoebe asked, "Would you like to spend the night with me?"

Looking for a rock to kick, Helga sighed at the offer. "No, that's okay Pheebs. I'll just slip some Zzz-quil in her drink when she's not looking tonight." Helga smirked, while Phoebe held back her laugh.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Go On Without Me

HEY ARNOLD! HEY ARNOLD! HEY ARNOLD!

After turning over to shut off his alarm, the first thing on Arnold's mind was _I wonder if Helga will be at school today?_

Once he was dressed, Arnold went downstairs to see Phil at the table with a stack of pancakes.

"Morning Tex" Pookey said, handing him a plate "Eat up! You'll need your strength for the cattle drive."

"Uhh right grandma." Arnold said, taking a few bites of his meal.

"Morning shortman! How'd ya sleep?" Phil asked.

"Not too good. I was thinking about Helga all night." Arnold admitted.

"You mean your little cranky friend with the pink bow and the one eyebrow." Phil described.

"Yeah, her name's Helga grandpa." Arnold sighed. She had been his girlfriend for almost three years. Yet, Phil couldn't remember her name.

"Anywho, you excited about your trip to the zoo?" he asked, seeing Arnold push his plate aside.

"I don't know. One of my classmates maybe threatening to open all the animal cages. It could be kind of crazy." Arnold explained, while Phil looked over at Pookey dressed in her cowgirl outfit.

"Hmm...tell him to call Pookey if he needs any help."

"Uhh right grandpa. Bye" Arnold rolled his eyes, as he headed out the door.

"See ya Shortman!"

Once Arnold made it out the door, he saw Gerald waiting for him. "Hey Arnold! Ready for that trip?"

"I guess. It won't be any fun without Helga." he sighed.

"What are you talking about man? All she does is complain!" Gerald pointed out, while his best friend rolled his eyes.

"Come on Gerald, you know that's not true."

"I do?" Gerald asked wittingly.

The two of them then made it to the bus stop to see Phoebe waiting at the corner alone. While Gerald was anxious to meet up with her, Arnold appeared to have a frown on his face.

"Hey babe, how are you this morning?" Gerald asked.

"I'm doing quite well Gerald. How are you and Arnold?" Phoebe wondered.

Before Gerald could reply, Arnold asked "Actually Phoebe, I was wondering if you had heard from Helga?"

Nodding her head, Phoebe replied "Yes, I regret to inform you she has not fully recovered from her headache. I'm afraid she won't be making it to the field trip."

"I'm sure she'd just be getting another from the performance we'll be getting from Curly there anyway." Gerald said wittingly.

As the bus was then pulling up, Arnold stood there a moment, watching his two friends step towards it.

"What are you waiting for man?" Gerald asked.

"Uhh you guys go on without me." Arnold insisted.

"Why? You plan on walking the rest of the way?" Gerald lifted an eyebrow.

"Just go on without me." Arnold said, racing away.

"Whatever you say Arnold." Gerald sighed, as he stepped onto the bus with Phoebe.

As Arnold ran down the street, he thought to himself _Maybe I shouldn't be doing this? What if she's not the only one at home? What if I wake her up?_

After pondering his thoughts during his race for two or three blocks, Arnold made it to his girlfriend's house.

He nervously knocked on the door, hoping she wouldn't be upset with him. After a moment had passed, he knocked a little louder, hearing…"OKAY! OKAY! I'm coming! Sheesh!

Helga then swung open the door, holding her head.

"What is i...ARNOLD!" Helga screamed, dropping her hand she had been holding to her head.

"Hey Helga." he waved nervously, as he looked at her standing there in her purple nightgown.

"I mean, what are you doing here football head?" Helga scoffed, with her hand on her waist.

"I just wanted to check on you. I heard you had a bad headache yesterday, but when I came by to see how you were doing, Olga said you left." Arnold explained.

"Pttss...yeah well, she wasn't exactly helping fix the problem she caused." Helga smirked.

"Maybe I could help. That is, if you want me to come over?" Arnold blushed, while seeing Helga's eyes widen…

 _Oh my love! So kind and nurturing! Coming over to check on me in my hour of need!_

"Uhh I guess you could come in. What about school? I mean, aren't you supposed to be on that lame-o field trip right now?" she smirked.

"Something tells me going on a trip to the zoo with Curly won't end well." Arnold said as he entered Helga's house.

"Pttss...ya got that right!" she scoffed.

Meanwhile, the class was making their way onto the bus to head to the zoo. "Does anyone know where Arnold is? I have his grandparents' permission slip?" Mr. Simmons asked.

"He's uhh sick. He won't be joining us." Gerald replied, knowing where his best friend must have run off to.

"Hmm...well alright then. Class, let's get going." Mr. Simmons insisted.

As the kids were boarding the bus, Phoebe asked "Where do you suppose Arnold ran off to Gerald?"

"If I know my man, he's taking care of Pataki. Not that she'd accept his help with anything." Gerald said wittingly.

While the kids were boarding the bus, they couldn't help but take notice at Curly's jungle attire. He was painted with tiger stripes, while wearing a headband, a skirt made of leaves and having trouble keeping calm. "FREE THE ANIMALS! HAHAHAHAH!"

"This trip's not going to go well." Sid said, staring at Curly.

"Ya reckon they'll even let us in?" Stinky wondered, while scratching his head.

"They better! I'm not sitting on this bus all day before I get the chance to eat something! Or there's gonna be a pounding!" Harold exclaimed, ramming his fist into his hand.

While Gerald and Phoebe were listening to the commotion, Phoebe sat there wondering if Helga was doing any better.

Olga had left the house to meet with some friends who heard she was back in town. Bob was at work, successfully selling cell phones along with his other new types of electronics to the customers he had won back. Miriam was passed out at the counter from another smoothie.

After Helga had invited Arnold in, he looked over to see Miriam hanging over the counter, drooling heavily. "Uhh should I come back another time?"

"Pttss...don't worry. Even if you dropped a plate on her head, she'd barely budge." Helga scoffed.

As Arnold followed Helga up to her room, he noticed her once again holding her head. Once they made it to her bedroom, he watched her sit on the edge of the bed with her face in her hands. Her sheets were folded over, as though she had been under the covers a moment ago.

 _I must have woken her up…_

"Why don't you get under the covers? I'll bring you some water." he offered.

"Thanks but, I've already got some." she mumbled, pointing to her nightstand.

Arnold began to rub his neck, feeling as though it may have been a bit pointless to have come over. There wasn't much he could do to help her.

"Have you taken anything for your head?"

"Pttss...I've practically gone through a whole bottle of painkillers in the past day and a half." she scoffed.

Sitting beside her, with his arm around her, he asked "So, Olga's the reason you have a headache?"

Lifting her head up to glare, as if he had just asked the stupidest question anyone could possibly ask, she scoffed "Doi! She's been screaming and pestering me ever since she came to visit! Crimity, I haven't gotten a moment's peace!"

With his arm around her, he began to rub hers and asked "When is she supposed to leave?"

"Pttss...tomorrow. Still not soon enough!" Helga scoffed, while Arnold sent a weak smile her way.

Not caring how weak it made her seem, she rested her head on his shoulder.

As Arnold felt her breathing slowly against his arm, he thought to himself _Maybe I should leave? I don't want to leave her alone though._

As Helga felt him rub her arm tight, with her eyes closed, she listened to him say "I really missed you yesterday."

"Really?" she cocked her brow, as she sat up to look at him.

"Of course. You are my girlfriend." he replied, not seeing how she could think he wouldn't miss her.

While they were enjoying each other's quiet company, the rest of their class was being escorted out of the zoo.

"This really bites!" Stinky said.

"I know. Curly tries to free the animals, and WE are the ones paying for it?!" Sid exclaimed.

"AWW! Now I have to wait to get back to school to eat!" Harold whined.

"Harold! This is not a restaurant. We didn't come here to eat, we came to see the animals...which we won't be getting to do now thanks to Curly and his horrid outfit!" Rhonda explained.

As the gang was headed out the entrance, they looked back to see Mr. Simmons forcefully dragging Curly out with him.

"Curly! I'm very disappointed in you! How did you even get the key for the cages?"

"I believe he took the liberty of removing them from the guard's belt when no one was looking." Phoebe explained, while Gerald just shook his head.

"Mm.. ! I told you this would be a disaster."

"Well, we better get back I'm afraid." Mr. Simmons sighed, dragging Curly along with the rest of the classmates.

"FREE THE ANIMALS! HAHAHAHAH!" Curly shouted, still trying to get away!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Best Medicine

Just sitting there with Arnold in that quiet room began to make Helga's headache fade. She laid back against a pillow she had propped up on the head of the bed, while facing Arnold who was still sitting on the edge.

"So, you're not regretting skipping the field trip?" she asked.

"Nah. I think I've been to the zoo enough times." he replied, smiling at her.

"Pttss...tell me about it. When I was little, Olga used to drag me there just so she could get a picture with every freakin' animal they had. Oh brother!" Helga scoffed.

Placing a hand on her thigh, Arnold asked "Is your head feeling any better?"

"Eh, it's not bad. It's not throbbing like it was yesterday." she admitted, shrugging her shoulders.

"Where exactly did you go yesterday? When I came by, Olga just said you left after she read you a story and sang you a lullaby." Arnold explained, doing his best not to smile.

Helga rolled her eyes at her memory and the idea of him knowing about it. "Crimity! After Ms. Caregiver of the year decided to smother me with the first aid attention a three year old deserves, I stormed out to head for the docks! I texted Phoebe to meet me there when she left school yesterday."

Arnold began to scoot closer, as he took her hand in his. "I guess I'd be pretty mad to."

"Ya think?" she scoffed.

He leaned his head against hers, feeling her face with his hands. As he pressed their noses together, he listened to her say "Thanks for coming to check on me."

It was as though that one simple sentence was all he needed for permission to release whatever tension had been holding him back. No sooner had Helga thanked him, Arnold jerked her face to his. The moment their lips pressed, they could each feel a tingling sensation that came to their skin caused by the other one's warm breath.

Helga was able to ignore her headache thanks to the trembling brought to her body caused by the touch of her beloved. His lips softly swept against hers while his hands were wrapped tightly around her waist.

Arnold's mind was wrapped around the appreciation she had just shown for him, without thinking about the types of movements being made between them. After realizing how long this had gone on, he slowly pulled his lips back, holding her face in his hands to say "No problem. I'm uhh glad you're okay."

Helga began to blush fiercely. All she could do was nod, with a weak smile that would hopefully show her appreciation for his concern.

At that moment, it was as though neither of them cared how her head was doing. Arnold firmly pressed his lips against hers, while placing a hand behind her head. His other arm was placed behind her waist to pull her closer towards him.

Getting into the moment, he began to feel uncomfortable sitting on the edge of the bed. Arnold then decided to lay on top of Helga on the bed, still with his hand behind her head and his other arm behind her waist. Once their chests were pressed firmly together, they could each feel the excitement of the other's heartbeat.

Hoping that meant she was as into this as he was, Arnold slid his tongue into his girlfriend's mouth. Not long after entering, Helga widened the entrance, tilting her head more for convenience. The two laid there exploring the insides of each others mouths. Every edge and corner, as if it was the cure for her headache.

While Helga began to tighten her grip around Arnold's neck, he could feel the touch of his tongue send chills throughout her body.

Backing away slowly, with their lips resting on each other, Arnold asked "Do you need to be under the covers?"

Just the thought of his concern for her made her tremble even more. "Uhhh maybe."

As he was about to get up, she pulled him down once again with her arms still around his neck.

Receiving a confused look from him, she whispered "Will you get under them with me?"

Arnold's eyes immediately widened at the sound of this. They could both feel each other's hearts continue to pound against one another's. Looking into her innocent sapphire eyes, he put a hand to her face and said "Sure."

After watching him kick his shoes off, she watched him begin to slide in beside her. Before he could, she stopped him and said "You can take your shirt off...if you want. I mean, unless you want it to feel like 90 degrees in less than nine minutes?" she tried to smirk.

Arnold gulped at the thought of undressing at his girlfriend's house, and then getting into bed with her. No one else was there though. It was just them. After taking a moment to consider it, he took off his green sweater. Helga then watched him slowly unbutton his red shirt, which she had seen him do once before.

When she hid out in his room, the night she tried to steal back her parrot. She couldn't help but catch a glance at her beloved changing his clothes through the cracks of her hiding spot.

"Guess I'll slip in beside you." Arnold said, wrapping his arm around her, as he once again pulled her lips up to meet his. She laid her hands against his warm smooth chest, while he ran his fingers through her silky blonde hair. Their lips brushed back and forth as Helga thought to herself _This is the way to get rid of a headache._

As he barely pulled his lips back, keeping their noses together, he whispered "I'm glad you're feeling better."

A wide grin formed on her face as he snuggled close to him. Laying her head against his chest, she replied "You're the best medicine of all."

A few moments later, Helga opened her eyes to reach for the water on her nightstand. As she was about to reach over Arnold for it, she noticed a note on the floor.

"What's that sheet of paper on your shirt football head?"

Arnold looked over to see the note he had been writing for her the previous morning.

"Huh? Oh, I was going to give you another note to ask if you'd go out with me again today. Guess I didn't need the note for that." he laughed.

"Nope. It's not like you have a phone to text me or a mouth to ask me." she smirked.

"Whatever you say Helga." he sighed, kissing her on the head, as she wrapped her arms around him tight. The warm touch he brought to her heart was all the pain relief she could ask for.

 _ **THE END**_

 _ **PLEASE REVIEW**_


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